CAVENDISH — It may be a small budget decrease, but at least it’s something, according to Town Manager Richard Svec.

The Cavendish Select Board approved the town meeting warrant last week which includes eight articles, according to Svec.

One of the more notable articles, according to Svec, is the 2014 proposed budget. At $1.24 million, the budget is a 1.2 percent decrease from this year’s $1.26 million budget. The cause for the decrease was attributed to a $6,000 surplus in the 2013 budget, Svec said.

“We erased a deficit from the 2012 budget and we wound up with unanticipated surplus going into next year,” Svec said.

Next year’s budget could have been lower but there were five line items that added more to the bottom line, Svec said. The most notable increase was county taxes.

According to Svec, county taxes increased 92 percent from $7,700 last year to $14,830 this year. Towns across Windsor County are paying more in county taxes this year to catch up from back-to-back low budgets set by Windsor County side judges in 2011 and 2012.

Other notable increases include a $10,000 audit of the town’s Federal Emergency Management Agency funding, $15,000 in general services/solid waste for recycling improvements and $1,500 for Windsor County Sheriff’s Department and town constable services.

Voters will also decide whether to designate Cavendish as a Property Assessed Clean Energy district. A PACE district allows individuals seeking energy improvements to opt in to a special assessment district created by a municipality.

There is only one contested election this year. Three candidates — Amy Perry, Amanda Tyrrell and Scott Ranney — are vying for two, one-year School Board seats.

The legal voters of Cavendish will be notified and warned at 7 p.m. March 4 at Cavendish Elementary School in Proctorsville Village. Australian ballot voting will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 5 at Cavendish Elementary School.